Martha Nichols writes: On Saturday, May 20th, the Sandwich Home Industries opens its doors for our 91st season with fine NH made crafts and a full slate of arts and crafts classes for adults and children.

This year is one of transition for the “Home Industries”, as locals call it. We say goodbye to gallery manager, Julie Deak, who has provided dedicated expertise for nine years and we welcome incoming manager, Martha Nichols. The board of directors and staff have been busy sprucing up the shop with a fresh look, painting inside and out, and making plans for a summer of sharing this historical resource in our community.

The new look continues with our recently redesigned website - easy to use on your computer or your phone. Here you will find complete information about our shop, craftspeople, and classes. Please check us out on www.centersandwich.nhcrafts.org.

Incoming manager Martha Nichols

Sandwich Home Industries is the birthplace of the League of NH Craftsmen, and our mission is to inspire and educate the broader community as well as to preserve traditional and contemporary craft. This season, we have a wide selection of classes scheduled June through August. In June, we start with a 5-day weaving intensive by Sara Goodman. In July and August, a variety of children’s classes includes felting, clay, collage, drawing, and making garden stakes. Adult and teen classes are offered in fabric dyeing, knitting, felting, watercolors, kiln fired glass and jewelry making. Our website has more details and you may call or email for registration information.

Stop by to see our wide selection of fine handcrafted items. From May 20th through mid-October, we are open Monday through Saturday 1-5 and Sunday 12-5. Also, please join us for our OPENING CELEBRATION on May 28th, 1-4 for demos and free mini classes. Please contact 284-6831, email sandwichcraftgallery@gmail.com, or visit www.centersandwich.nhcrafts.org

The Sandwich Home Industries Board is pleased to announce that they have hired a new Gallery Manager. Julie Deak had requested to retire in 2017 after a decade of work growing and nurturing our historic gallery.

The new Gallery Manager is Martha Nichols - a long time resident of Sandwich who raised her family here, has taught in local schools and is well known throughout. She and Julie will act as “partner managers” for April and May until our major opening event on May 27th. Save the date and join us to celebrate both Julie and Martha!

Martha Nichols

Martha says, "I am very pleased and excited for this new opportunity to learn about and reach out to our arts community while continuing the wonderful traditions of SHI!"

Valentine Cupcake ChallengeAll cupcake entries are in the display case (top of the stairs) at the Samuel H. Wentworth Library where they can be seen and enjoyed. Library patrons were the judges. Categories: children (through Grade 6); youth (grades 7-12); Adult: Family. The winners in each category will be announced on Valentine's Day. If you can't get to the library to see these creations, here are some photographs!

Off the Dock PlayersRebecca Cole writes: About 5 years before I bought my little house in Sandwich (25 years ago) I left a theatre career I had spent a decade training for and working in. I was fortunate to work professionally in my twenties but, as it often does... real life, real bills and real needs caught up and nudged me in a different direction.

Then one warm day this past summer, on a dock on Squam, my dock mates suggested we put on a play. And ‟Off the Dock Players" were born. We chose Love Letters by A.R. Gurney for our first play and asked the Taylor Community in Laconia to let us perform this Pulitzer nominated play for their residence. We had 3 or 4 ‟previews" on porches throughout Sandwich prior to opening (and closing) night where we were led to believe (by our friends and family) we had a real hit on our hands.

A rehearsal for Love Letters...

We approached ATTP and Don at the Corner House for advice on the potential of mounting the show in Sandwich. They were super encouraging and suggested we do something for Valentine's Week.

So I hope you will join us for Off the Dock Player's Sandwich Premiere! Hank Offinger, a Sandwich resident, who spent years acting in NYC, will be my spectacular co-star. Nancy Blaine, a fellow townie, is our brilliant director. And our wonderful Corner House has made this a true Valentine Event with a delicious Dinner/Theatre offering (3 course prix fixe & show) Saturday, February 11 & 18 (dinner 5:30, show 7 PM, $28) and Sunday, February 19 (brunch 12:30, show 2 PM, $18) or just come to the show for $12. For dinner/theatre reservations call 284-6219. Show at the Arts Center, 12 Main St: show tickets only www.offthedockplayers.com.

We would LOVE to see all our neighbors there! Living the dream, Rebecca Cole

Rhea York, Office Manager of the Sandwich Fair Association writes: The winners for the Sandwich Fair Photo Contest have been selected. We had a number of excellent entries this year but the judges were able to select three winners. The First Place winner was Amanda Royce from Conway, Second Place went to Jolee Chase from Brookline, NH and Third Place went to Ernie Landry from Portsmouth, NH.

Diane Johnson writes: The galleries of Sandwich will once again be open after hours from 5 to 7 PM for the final gallery walk of the summer season. Join Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery, Sandwich Home Industries, Surroundings Gallery, The Village Green Café & Market, Advice to the Players and the Corner House Inn for an evening of culture and cuisine. Stroll around Sandwich on a summer evening taking in the rich arts and crafts that our businesses exhibit. We will have refreshment for you at each stop. A dining discount will be offered by the Corner House Inn for those who visit each gallery.

Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery will be featuring an exhibit of paintings by artist Anna Jeretic entitled the Language of Branches. A printmaker and a painter, Jeretic’s work is delicate and exact while not without whimsy. This exhibit is about her fascination with the shapes of branches and the script that those branches create. In her paintings and etchings she endeavors to bring out their various expressions.

Also on view are Everywhere Bags by Katy Clark with paintings by CC White, sculpture by Cecily Clark and sketches by Philip B. Parsons. We look forward to seeing you Friday evening, August 19th.

Surroundings Art Gallery will be at 12 Main Street through August 31st. Works from many of your favorite artists adorn the walls. New to Surroundings this year is Craig Pursley whose paintings of northern New Hampshire capture the natural beauty of the area. We also have Folk Art, Wood Carvings, and Stained Glass panels available. It has been great to be back in Sandwich for the summer.

Be sure to visit the Village Green Café & Market, Sandwich’s newest business. Owners Nick and Elaine Vazzana have created a wonderful atmosphere where clients can sip espresso, cappuccino or cafe latte in the company of their friends or laptops. The coffee machine itself is a work of art. On the walls, Nick Vazzana’s paintings give the place the feel of an art gallery.

Sandwich Home Industries

Corner House Inn

Sandwich Home Industries is busy as ever this summer with a new collection of traditional and contemporary crafts from over 150 juried artists. Pottery, glass lamps and shades, furniture and jewelry are all on view. Fiber items such as handwoven scarves, table linens and sweaters are also part of their large collection. A mainstay of Sandwich shopping, it is always fun to see what is new at SHI.

Finally after an evening of art and craft step into the Corner House Inn for a cool drink and delicious dinner prepared by the Corner House staff. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming in the pub, in the dining room or on the terrace. Friday evenings live music in the pub is an added attraction to all that the CHI has to offer.

The galleries of Sandwich and The Corner House Inn look forward to welcoming you on Friday, August 19th!

Founding company member Robert Bates, shown playing Shylock in 2012’s Merchant of Venice, is returning to play Prospero in The Tempest.

This August, Advice To The Players (ATTP), Sandwich’s Shakespeare Company, is bringing William Shakespeare’s The Tempest to their summer home at the Sandwich Fairgrounds Stage for the first time. Returning to join the cast are ATTP’s Founding Artistic Director Caroline Nesbitt, and founding company member Robert Bates.

“The opportunity to return to my old company as an actor and work with this new generation of creative thinkers and their exciting ideas for the future is a treat,” said Nesbitt, who plays Gonzalo. “Of course I would love to say I taught them everything they know, but I'd be lying. In fact, I've learned far more from their example!”

Andrew Codispoti and Jessie Chapman are the company’s current Artistic Director and Managing Director, respectively. Together they are helming this, the company’s 15th Summer Season in Sandwich. So far the season has included a production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised], which played at The Winnipesaukee Playhouse and at the Sandwich Town Hall Theatre in July, as well as the company’s popular Wednesday night Summer Concert Series, which will continue through August, and several play readings.

The Tempest will serve as the season’s capstone. “When it came to planning this Summer’s season there was really only one choice,” said Codispoti, the show’s director. “This is the 400th year since Shakespeare’s death in 1616, and we’re celebrating his legacy all year long. It seems appropriate to produce The Tempest, possibly the last play he wrote.”

Robert Bates will be playing Prospero, the banished Duke and magician who speaks the words many have interpreted as Shakespeare’s farewell to his career in the theatre. But when ATTP produced The Tempest the first time round, at The Barnstormers Theatre in 2005, Nesbitt played Prospero, and Bates played a very different character.

“Now that I am playing Prospero instead of Stephano, the drunken butler, I will have to learn many more lines, be not funny, and I suppose stay sober,” said Bates, tongue firmly in cheek.

Indeed, Bates has been with the company since the very beginning in 1999. “This has been a joyous, educational and challenging ride through Shakespeare's literary world since playing Iago (my favorite role by the way) in our first production, Othello. My greatest pleasure during these many years since has been to play with, observe and get to know so many smart, energetic, hard working and talented young people, and to have the privilege of watching them grow both on stage and in life on their journey to adulthood.”“It is an honor,” said Codispoti, “to be working again with Caroline and Bob, who’ve been mentors to me ever since I joined this company fresh out of college.”

You can see Bates and Nesbitt in ATTP’s The Tempest at the Sandwich Fairgrounds Stage, August 4th – 7th, 10th, & 11th, at 5:30 PM, and at the Sandwich Town Hall Theatre, August 12th – 14th, Friday & Saturday at 7:30 PM, Sunday at 2:00 PM. Information and tickets: www.advicetotheplayers.org, or call 284-7115.

The Sandwich Home Industries, League of NH Craftsmen Gallery is open for its 90th season. Over 175 juried members now show their work at the gallery, providing a wide selection of locally-made handcrafted items. Shop SHI for very special gifts for Father’s Day and summer weddings. Or just treat yourself!

There are a number of new artists this season, including nature-inspired jewelry from Diana Beaulieu and Betsy Keeney, and simple organic contemporary design jewelry from Erica Walker. Steve Falk, a new woodworker, brought items large and small from spreaders and salad forks to 3-legged stools. Fabulous fiber-stuffed chickens are made by newly-juried craftsperson Jennifer Diggs.

Returning this year is a vibrant collection of Nathan Macomber’s cups and bowls and a collection of vintage Gotshall silver jewelry, handmade here in Sandwich. For a peek at some of new work and the artisans that delivered them, check out the SHI Facebook page.

The Industries also continues its long history of arts and crafts education with its summer schedule of classes and workshops, beginning with a weaving class “5 Warps in 5 Days” June 13 - 17. Suitable for weavers of all experience levels, this class will provide 5 days of intensive study, each student working with the instructor individually at their level. Instructor Sara Goodman is an award-winning weaver and dyer who enjoys spending time in the Lakes Region each summer. A full list of classes and enrollment information can be found at www.nhcrafts.org/center-sandwich.

SHI director, Julie Deak

Sandwich Home Industries is located at 32 Main Street, on the Green, in Center Sandwich. Gallery hours are Monday - Saturday 10 AM - 5 PM, Sunday 12 - 5 PM thru mid-October. For more info, call 603-284-6831 or visit the website www.nhcrafts.org/center-sandwich.

How often have we driven through town since the demise of Mocha Rizing and thought to ourselves, "How I wish there were somewhere around here to get a cup of coffee!" How excited we are that Sandwich will soon have a café in the center again. Nick and Elaine Vazzana, the new owners of what will be called the Village Green Café & Market, have been hard at work getting everything ready for a Memorial Day weekend opening.

Nick at work out back

Not a bad view!

Here is what Nick says about the project:The Village Green Café & Market carries on the vision of an in-town, general market by providing a community gathering place that celebrates our people, their art, food and agricultural traditions. Primarily a coffeehouse, the enterprise aims to revitalize Sandwich’s historic district, incubating small businesses by providing an outlet for local vendors, artisans and farmers. One space devoted to an art gallery will present fine art and crafts by local artists.

The Café & Market represents the rebirth of an old style of shopping. Years ago, every, town’s public market served as a central place for shoppers to purchase food and goods from multiple producers under one roof. Consumers enjoyed the freshness, variety and uniqueness of the food, art, crafts and other merchandise grown and created in their region. We contemplate selling coffee and tea and other products including baked goods, ice cream, milk, yogurt, cheese, fruit, household supplies and artwork.

tables and chairs

the espresso maker, and more

The café will be open seven days a week, from 6:30 AM to 3 PM weekdays, 7 to 4 on Saturdays, and 7 to 2 on Sundays. I'll see you there!

Saturday morning, May 21st was the beginning of the active season here in Sandwich. The first outdoor Farmers Market of 2016 took place in the Corner House Inn parking lot. Across the street the Sandwich Home Industries opened for the season, and around the corner the Library held a plant and bake sale.

The Farmers Market was well attended by both vendors and buyers. In addition to vegetables for eating and planting, here were lots of marvelous baked goods, local eggs, handcrafted soaps and body care products, yarns and spinning supplies, artwork and other handmade items, locally roasted coffee, maple syrup, jams and jellies, bags and baguettes... the list goes on.

Baguettes and Bags at the Sandwich Farmers Market

The Sandwich Home Industries, Sandwich's historic craft store, now part of the League of NH Craftsmen, is looking beautiful inside and out, all ready for the new season. Inside it's full of stellar handmade items of all kinds. Check out the awesome chicken pillows!

Around the corner the Samuel Wentworth Library offered an outdoor plant sale and an indoor bake sale. It was impossible to resist the profusion of treats! What an abundance of offerings in our little town. And it will only get better as the summer progresses. Just wait until next week when the new coffee shop, Village Green Café, opens its doors. More news on that coming soon.

Alfred Quimby Fundfor the Town of Sandwich

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